Friendsgiving ideas your friends will ask to repeat.

The word

What Friendsgiving is.

Friendsgiving is a holiday meal with friends, on or near Thanksgiving — sometimes instead of the family dinner, more often as an extra one before it. Merriam-Webster dates the word to 2007 and added it to the dictionary in 2020. Most are potlucks, and most are hosted by people who live far from family or just want one more good table before the holidays.

In 2026, Thanksgiving is Thursday, November 26. The weekend before (November 21–22) is the classic Friendsgiving slot; the Friday after works for anyone who stayed in town.

Ideas 1–9

Potluck ideas.

• 1. The classic split. Host does the turkey (or a roast chicken for six), everyone signs up for a side, a pie or drinks.
• 2. Hometown sides. Everyone brings the side dish their family makes — sweet potato casserole next to adobo next to a Sunday-roast Yorkshire pudding.
• 3. Sides-only. No turkey at all. Ten sides and a lot of bread. Nobody complains.
• 4. Pie tasting. Everyone brings a pie, slices go round, and the table votes on the winner.
• 5. A dish from a trip. Bring something from the best place you ate this year and tell the story while it’s served.
• 6. Global Friendsgiving. One Thanksgiving classic and one dish from each guest’s heritage — dumplings, empanadas, jollof, rendang.
• 7. Bring your best leftover. A Saturday-after Friendsgiving built around the best leftover turkey sandwiches anyone can make.
• 8. The “first time” table. Everyone cooks a dish they have never made before. Low stakes, high laughs.
• 9. Drinks host. One friend owns drinks: a big-batch punch, a mocktail and a coffee for after pie.

Copy this

A Friendsgiving sign-up sheet.

The “needs the oven” column saves the host: one oven cannot reheat six dishes at once, so ask people to bring things ready to serve or room-temperature friendly.

Ideas 10–17

Friendsgiving at a restaurant.

Eating out? Book early, ask whether large parties get an automatic gratuity, and agree on the bill before anyone orders — our bill-splitting guide has fair ways to do it. More on the big day itself in Thanksgiving dinner at a restaurant.

• 10. Book the long table. A family-style restaurant where plates go in the middle feels the most like home.
• 11. The private room. Many restaurants have one for groups; ask about set menus.
• 12. Korean BBQ Friendsgiving. Everyone grills, everyone pours. Our Korean BBQ guide has the order of things.
• 13. Hot pot Friendsgiving. One bubbling pot, trays of everything — a cold-night favourite. See how to eat hot pot.
• 14. Dim sum brunch. A daytime Friendsgiving that leaves the evening free. Use our dim sum ordering card.
• 15. The restaurant’s holiday menu. Some places run a Thanksgiving set menu the week before; ask when you book.
• 16. Pizza and pie. Pizzeria for dinner, then back to someone’s place for pie.
• 17. A food hall table. Everyone picks a different stall and brings it back to one table — no single cuisine has to please everyone.

Ideas 18–25

Small traditions that make it yours.

• 18. One thing you’re thankful for, one sentence each, before anyone eats.
• 19. The table photo before the carving. Same angle every year.
• 20. Food superlatives. Best side, most surprising dish, bravest second helping.
• 21. Place cards with a question on the back: “Best thing you ate this year?”
• 22. The leftovers swap. Everyone brings an empty container and leaves with a mix.
• 23. A dish card swap. Each cook writes how they made their dish on a card for whoever wants to try it.
• 24. The group chat recap. The next morning, everyone posts their favourite bite — with a food dump caption.
• 25. Same date, next year. Pick it before dessert, while everyone is happy.

For the host

A Friendsgiving timeline.

1. Three weeks outPick the date and the format — potluck or restaurant. Book now if eating out; November weekends fill up.
2. Two weeks outSend the sign-up sheet. Ask everyone what they don’t eat, and plan at least one main-sized vegetarian dish.
3. One week outOrder or buy the turkey; a frozen one needs days to thaw in the fridge. Count chairs, plates and glasses.
4. The day beforeSet the table, chill drinks, clear the fridge, and confirm who is bringing ice and foil.
5. On the dayMain in the oven early. Reheat sides in shifts. Sit down, and let someone else carve.

Keep it

Next year, remember who brought what.

One photo of the full table, before anyone reaches, is the whole night. PlateDiary cuts every dish into its own save — the turkey, Maya’s mac and cheese, the pie that won — and groups them into one moment. Add everyone on the companions row, and each friend’s page keeps every table you’ve shared. A year later, it shows “A year ago today.”

A tag like “friendsgiving” (tags are free) turns into a page of every year’s table, side by side. Curious how the classic plate adds up? See the Thanksgiving dinner numbers.